Rooney reveals nose surgery eight years after breaking it twice during playing career

Wayne Rooney has finally had corrective surgery on a nose he broke twice during his playing career — the second time at MLS side DC United in 2018, eight years before he went under the knife.

The 40-year-old disclosed the news on the first episode of his new media show Stick to United, explaining that he had been living with the injury through the final years of his playing career at Derby County and subsequent management stints at Derby, Birmingham City, and Plymouth Argyle.

“I had surgery on my nose last week,” Rooney said. “I’m actually really lucky I’ve got no black eyes. But I’ve still got two plastic tubes up my nose which are coming out very soon. I can’t wait for them to come out. They’ve cut here so that’s all stitched. It’s a little bit uncomfortable.”

Rooney traced the original injury back to an FA Cup tie against Preston, a match that also became notable for a controversial penalty decision. “I broke my nose against Preston in the FA Cup — it was when all that Wade Barrett stuff came out because it was a bit of a dive. I won a penalty. I broke my nose in that game and then, when I went to DC United, I broke my nose again. That was a bad one.”

Despite being advised to have surgery at the time, Rooney chose to postpone it. “I needed surgery but I never had it. I put it off. This summer I thought I’d get the World Cup out of the way and I’ll get it done. It went well but these tubes are horrible and they’re still in.”

Elsewhere in the same episode, Rooney turned his attention to Manchester United’s summer transfer window, identifying four positions he believes still need reinforcing before the deadline. He singled out Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly as a player United should move for, describing the signing as “an absolute no-brainer” given the teenager’s ability to operate at left-back and in central midfield.

“I thought Luke Shaw had a really good season last season, but he didn’t have the best game against AC Milan,” Rooney said. “So I don’t think you can rely on Luke Shaw to be consistent for the whole season. That leads me to Lewis-Skelly, and we’re hearing that he’s available for not much money.”

Beyond the left-back position, Rooney called for United to add another centre-back, a central midfielder, and a centre forward before the window closes, while stressing that quality should take precedence over quantity in their recruitment.